Maine Question 1, 2011

Last updated
Question 1: People's Veto
Do you want to reject the section of Chapter 399 of the Public Laws of 2011 that requires new voters to register to vote at least two business days prior to an election?
Results
Votes %
Yes check.svgYes237,02460.44%
X mark.svgNo 155,15639.56%
Valid votes 392,18099.08%
Invalid or blank votes 3,6270.92%
Total votes395,807100.00%
Source: Office of the Secretary of State of Maine, Tabulation of Votes

Maine Question 1, "Do you want to reject the section of Chapter 399 of the Public Laws of 2011 that requires new voters to register to vote at least two business days prior to an election?", was a 2011 people's veto referendum that rejected a bill repealing Election Day voter registration in Maine. The vote was held on November 8, 2011 after being placed on the ballot due to supporters collecting the necessary number of signatures. The veto effort was successful, with 237,024 votes in favor of repeal to 155,156 against repeal.

Popular referendum referendum to repeal a new or existing law

A popular referendum is a type of a referendum that provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote (plebiscite) on an existing statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance, or, in its minimal form, to simply oblige the executive or legislative bodies to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. It is a form of direct democracy.

Maine State of the United States of America

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.

Contents

Background

Maine has permitted same-day voter registration since 1973. [1] Upon taking control of both houses of the Maine Legislature and the Governor's office simultaneously for the first time since 1963 in 2010, the Republicans passed LD 1376, which was signed by Gov. Paul LePage on June 21, 2011. The bill, sponsored by Speaker Robert Nutting, eliminated same-day voter registration along with prohibiting registration and absentee voting two business days before an election. [2] [3] Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers, in announcing his support for the bill, stated that "This is designed to relieve stresses on the system. People can try to assign falsehoods and nefarious reasons behind it, but that’s not what this is about." [4] Summers also wrote an editorial in which he stated that the bill was a proactive step to secure the integrity of elections, and not a step to prevent voter fraud. He also rejected the idea by opponents of the bill that same-day registration led to increased voter turnout, noting both that such turnout was high before same-day registration and increased with the passage of moter-voter legislation in 1990. [5]

Maine Legislature The bi-cameral Legislature of the State of Maine

The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Augusta, where it has met since 1832.

Governor of Maine head of state and of government of the U.S. state of Maine

The Governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the Governor of Massachusetts was chief executive.

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Maine:

The Maine chapter of AARP testified in opposition to the bill, claiming that it would make it harder for some senior citizens to vote, who would then have to go to their town or city office twice to register and vote instead of once. [4]

AARP is a United States-based interest group whose stated mission is "to empower people to choose how they live as they age." According to the organization, it had more than 38 million members as of 2018.

Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster generated controversy when claiming during the runup to LD 1376's passage that Democrats used same-day registration to "intentionally steal elections" and that they had "bused voters" into Maine to vote due to the allowing of same-day registration. [6] He later toned down his comments to state that he thought Democrats used same-day registration to "influence" elections, especially through college students and Job Corps members voting. Democrats heavily criticized his comments, claiming it reflected a true agenda of wanting to make electoral gains at democracy's expense. [7]

Charles 'Charlie' M. Webster is an American politician from Maine. Webster, a Republican from Farmington, served 14 years in the Maine Legislature, including four in the Maine House of Representatives (1980–1984) and ten in the Maine Senate (1984–1994). In the Senate, Webster served one term (1986–1988) as Assistant Minority Leader and two terms (1988–1992) as Minority Leader.

The Maine Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Maine. For much of the time after the Civil War, the Democrats were a minor player in a political scene dominated by the Republican Party. However, during the 1950s, Edmund Muskie led an expansive political insurgency culminating in his election as Governor of Maine and successive Democratic elections to both state and national offices. From 2012 to 2019, despite having a Republican Governor in Paul LePage, the party remained strong, holding key offices in the state government and U.S. Congress and maintaining a majority in the Maine House of Representatives for 6 of LePage's 8 years.

After passage of the bill, supporters of same-day registration launched a petition drive on July 8, 2011 to put the issue on the ballot though the group Protect Maine Votes. The question approved for circulation on the petition forms was "Do you want to reject the section of Chapter 399 of the Public Laws of 2011 that requires new voters to register to vote at least two business days prior to an election?" They did not seek to repeal the portion of the law regarding absentee voting. [8] [9] Some city clerks like the one in Bangor stated that they favored that portion of the law but had little issue with same-day registration. [4]

Bangor, Maine City in Maine, United States

Bangor is a city in the U.S. state of Maine, and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 33,039, making it the state's 3rd largest settlement behind Portland (66,882) and Lewiston (36,221).

During the petition drive, supporters were critical of Webster and Secretary Summers for holding press conferences discussing voter fraud, claiming they were doing so to "play politics" and distract from the petition gathering effort. [8] [10]

Supporters turned in over 68,000 signatures to Secretary Summers by the deadline of August 8, 2011, well over the required number of 57,277. [10] Summers announced 30 days later that enough signatures were verified to place the question on the ballot. As the only people's veto question to reach the ballot, it was automatically numbered Question 1 per Maine law. [11]

Campaign

Nutting and other opponents of repeal stated that their primary intent in passing the original bill was to reduce the workload on municipal clerks, who saw increased absentee and same-day voting, in order to better prevent voter fraud, [12] which they claimed was difficult to do with the constraints of same-day registration. [13] Nutting further noted that Mainers would have still had 247 days a year to register to vote, other states have periods of up to 30 days they can't register before an election, and that thinking Mainers would not adjust to such a requirement was an insult to them. [14] Some opponents of repeal also claimed same-day registration led to "lazy and uninformed people" voting. [15] Opponents organized under the name Secure Maine's Ballot. [16]

Supporters of repeal, led by Protect Maine Votes, stated claims by opponents of repeal about overworked municipal clerks were unsubstantiated, and that there was no evidence of a problem with voter fraud in Maine. They claimed that having same-day voter registration since 1973 is one reason for Maine's traditionally high rate of voter turnout, releasing studies to support their position, such as one that stated that the top five states in voter turnout all permitted same-day registration. They further claimed that the effort to pass the bill was an attempt to limit constituencies that traditionally vote Democratic from voting, such as college students. [17]

Protect Maine Votes further noted that many Republican officials now opposed to same-day registration had made use of it in the past, including Governor LePage, two state senators, and eight state representatives. Protect Maine Votes spokesman David Farmer, in announcing that finding, noted that "The day and time you register is not an indicator of your interest in the election." [18] They also noted that in 2010 roughly the same number of same-day registrants were Republicans as Democrats. [16]

It was noted by outlets like the Bangor Daily News that, since the active People's Veto effort suspended the bill repealing it, Mainers could still register on Election Day to vote on the measure. [16]

Notable endorsements

Supporters

Opponents

Polling

Date of opinion pollConducted by Sample size YesNoUndecidedMargin of Error
October 28-31, 2011 [25] Public Policy Polling 67348% 44% 7% ±3.8%
October 18-23, 2011 [25] Critical Insights 60051% 43% 6% ±4%
September 7, 2011 [26] Pulse Opinion Research 50053% 47% - ±4.5%

Results

Breakdown of voting by county [27]
County Yes Votes No Votes
Androscoggin 54.6%17,61444.1%14,229
Aroostook 56.8%9,43642.6%7,076
Cumberland 63.1%57,76935.6%32,582
Franklin 60.1%5,33339%3,636
Hancock 62.2%10,46837.1%6,250
Kennebec 60.1%21,45239%13,914
Knox 65.8%8,67333.1%4,362
Lincoln 59.5%7,41040.2%4,999
Oxford 57.9%10,12041.3%7,216
Penobscot 59.8%24,58639.4%16,187
Piscataquis 54.6%2,53045%2,084
Sagadahoc 60.1%7,73239.5%5,078
Somerset 57%7,39642.1%5,459
Waldo 62.5%6,97237.1%4,140
Washington 55%5,46644.2%4,387
York 58.6%33,90440.5%23,442
Total [28] 59.9%237,02739.2%155,156

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References

  1. 1 2 "Maine towns back Yes on 1, same-day voter signup — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  2. 1 2 "Maine groups want to revive same-day voter registration". The Boston Globe . 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  3. 1 2 "Summary". Mainelegislature.org. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mistler, Steve (2011-06-01). "Maine Secretary of State supports bill eliminating same-day voter registration — Politics". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  5. ↑ Summers, Charles E. (2011-06-02). "Ending same-day registration protects 'integrity of Maine's elections' — Opinion". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  6. ↑ "Bill Nemitz: Ballot-box fraud? GOP fixes problem that isn't there". The Portland Press Herald . 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  7. ↑ "GOP chairman's charge that Democrats 'steal' election causes stir — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  8. 1 2 "Secretary of State finds no student voter fraud but still pledges to improve system — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  9. ↑ "Petition drive launched to repeal law that bans Election Day voter registration — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  10. 1 2 "Mainers likely to have say in Election Day voter registration — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-08-08. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  11. ↑ "People's veto of same-day voter registration ban will be Question 1 in November — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  12. ↑ "LePage signs bill banning same-day voter registration, but critics vow to fight — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-06-21. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  13. 1 2 3 "Senate GOP, Dems clash over same-day voter registration — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  14. ↑ "Lawmakers, Mainers Have Mixed Response To Recent Voting Measures - Portland News Story". Web.archive.org. 2011-07-10. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  15. ↑ [ dead link ]
  16. 1 2 3 "Fate of Election Day voter registration at stake with Question 1 — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  17. ↑ "Same-day voter registration increases turnout, studies say — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  18. ↑ [ dead link ]
  19. 1 2 "Mainers vote to continue Election Day registration — Politics". Bangor Daily News . 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  20. ↑ "Yes on Question 1 — Opinion". Bangor Daily News . 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  21. ↑ [ dead link ]
  22. ↑ "Our View: Question 1: Maine should keep Election Day registration". The Portland Press Herald . 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  23. ↑ "Maine groups want to revive same-day voter registration". The Boston Globe . 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  24. ↑ Cover, Susan M. (2011-07-07). "Wording of people's veto is set". The Portland Press Herald . Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  25. 1 2 Cover, Susan M. (2011-11-03). "Polls: Question 1 a close call". Centralmaine.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  26. ↑ "Poll: Majority support repealing same-day registration | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME". Web.archive.org. 2011-10-31. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  27. ↑ "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections and Voting, Results, 2010-11 Tabulations". Maine.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  28. ↑ Includes overseas voters
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